Axis I And/or Axis II Disorders Prevalent among Pedophiles

Axis I And/or Axis II Disorders Prevalent among Pedophiles

Article excerpt

MIAMI BEACH -- A high percentage of incarcerated pedophiles have Axis I and/or Axis II disorders, but very few receive mental health services, according to a poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Overall, 73% of the 70 prisoners studied displayed comorbidity for an Axis I and/or Axis II disorder. A total of 67% had a comorbid Axis I disorder. Alcohol abuse in 30% and generalized anxiety disorder in 27% were the most common diagnoses, said Dr. Michael C. Harlow, who was a psychiatry resident at the University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, at the time of the study and is currently a forensic psychiatry fellow at the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Harlow and his associate, Dr. Chris Davidson of Sioux Falls, also found that 42% of the subjects had an Axis II disorder, most commonly avoidant personality disorder and passive-aggressive personality disorder, each occurring in 15% of the voluntary participants.

"We wanted to understand them because these guys will go out in the community with minimal mental health services," Dr. …